In existing vehicles, various components generate torque requests, and these torque requests are passed along to an engine ECU to cause an engine of the vehicle to produce the requested amount of torque. One problem with existing systems is that by using torque as the control input, the speed at which the engine operates may vary erratically. Even if torque requests are controlled such that the rate of change of the torque demand is limited, the engine speed may nevertheless change rapidly and unexpectedly due to the non-linear relationship between torque and engine speed. For example, changing loads on the engine may cause the engine speed to change, even without changing the amount of torque being produced or requested. These erratic changes in engine speed can cause rough operation for an operator of the vehicle, and can cause unwanted wear on the engine and other components. What is needed are devices and techniques that allow for changing torque requests to be processed without causing rapid and unexpected changes in engine speed.